WATCH: Barcelona’s Lewandowski Taken Out By Wild Rugby Tackle

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski came in for some harsh treatment during the team’s La Liga clash against strugglers Elche at the Camp Nou on Saturday, August 17.

The visitors are known for their physical approach and demonstrated it with a wild piece of play on the Poland international that resulted in a red card after just 14 minutes of the match.

Frenkie de Jong had sent Lewandowski running clear through on goal with a clever pass from midfield. Elche defender Gonzalo Verdu desperately tried to halt Lewandowski and ended up resorting to a desperate rugby tackle to stop the 34-year-old.

Verdu’s challenge brought Lewandowski down but also resulted in an early dismissal for the 33-year-old, leaving Elche to play the rest of the game with just 10 men.

Lewandowski poured more misery on Elche 10 minutes before half-time when he opened the scoring from close range after a good cross in from the left by defender Alejandro Balde.

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Another Red For Elche

Verdu wasn’t the only Elche man sent off at the Camp Nou. Coach Francisco Rodríguez was also dismissed after arguing with the linesman. The manager was not at all happy he had not raised his flag for offside against Pedri.

Elche were already 2-0 down at the time. Memphis Depay had doubled the hosts’ lead on 41 minutes with a brilliant effort. The Dutchman received the ball with his back to goal, turned smartly and fired a fierce shot high into the net.

Balde was again the provider for the goal and continues to impress at left-back. The teenager has competition for his place, with Marcos Alonso and Jordi Alba in the squad, but is thriving in the early weeks of the new campaign.

The Catalans also thought they had a third just before the break. Teenage midfielder Pedri had a tap in after goalkeeper Edgar Badia had parried a Lewandowski shot but saw his effort ruled out for offside.

Lewandowski at the Double

Lewandowski did manage to add another goal after half-time. The striker needed just minutes of the second half to fire a low shot into the corner after good work from Memphis to keep the ball alive in the penalty area.

The goal means that the summer signing now has 11 goals from just eight appearances since signing for the Catalan giants from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window.

Lewandowski has also now scored in each of his last five matches in Spain’s top flight and is clearly thriving in his first season in La Liga.

Barcelona’s win over Elche moves the team to the top of the Primera Division table ahead of Sunday’s match between Real Madrid and Atletico at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Los Blancos can return to the top with a victory over their city rivals and head into the match with a perfect record from their seven games this season in all competitions.

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